My Arch Nemesis

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” -Theodore Roosevelt

“I’m in competition with myself and I’m losing.”-Roger Waters

Good morning SQers! I apologize for your delayed post this week. Happy August!

Competition from an evolutionary standpoint is what drives change and progress. The evolutionary principle carries over into our everyday lives as we compete for jobs, sometimes for affection and some for sport. Regardless of how you might feel about competition it is one of those facets of life that nobody really escapes.

It has its good side. Surrounding yourself with competition can truly bring out the best in you. It forces you to inadvertently become extremely self-aware and to step your game up to match the level of your peers. It can,if you let it, be the invisible hand that guides you pushing you to never settle and seek improvement. It also has its not-so-pretty side. It can become utterly overwhelming and consume you to the point where you become obsessed with your competitors forgetting about yourself.

As always with the beautiful dichotomies that I illustrate, it never is that simple. Competition can be both, neither or something else altogether. Being an active participant in your own life, you hold the power to decide to what degree you let the competition in your life affect you. In my opinion, on the whole competition ultimately proves to be a good thing. Without competition, we become complacent and settle rather than staying alert and active. However, it is important to remember that whether you are competing with one other person or a hundred, that only one of them really matters and that’s you.

You yourself are the most important competitor. At the end of the day all that matters is what you think of yourself and whether you want to change. Next time competition gets overwhelming…remember that. Use it to your knowledge to constantly strive to make yourself better.

That’s all for now. Have a great 2 weeks since I will be away next week.

Why Sunday Quotes?

This idea originally came to me when I was going through a difficult time and needed to find a way to deal with things. I started to look for a positive quote at the start of every week that I ended up writing on a post-it note and keeping on my desk to motivate & get me through the week. It usually would reflect whatever was on my mind at the time. I've always been a quotes and lyrics girl so it came naturally and sort of evolved into a weekly tradition. I started sharing my quotes with a few of my friends and figured it would just be easier to turn it into a blog to be able to share with everyone. So enjoy =)